Revolutions of 2027
The Revolutions of 2027, known in some countries as the Flood Revolutions, the Starvation Riots, or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout the world in 2027. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in human history, but reactionary forces had regained control, and the revolutions collapsed typically within a year, though in some cases separatist movements managed to achieve independence. The revolutions were essentially a violent reaction to the food shortages caused by ocean desalination that aimed to unseat many sitting governments. The revolutionary wave began in China in February, and immediately spread to most of Eurasia and parts of Africa. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among the revolutionaries in different countries. Five factors were involved: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for a permanent solution to the Refugee Crisis; demands for food; the demands of the working classes; and the upsurge of nationalism. The uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and many more forced into exile. Significant lasting reforms included the creation of the Japanese Extraterritorial Districts, the secession of Quebec from Canada, introduction of a Presidential system in Turkey, and constitutional reforms in the United States. Events by country or region 'United States of America' Main article: The American Troubles For the 'United States the situation in 2027 never descended into full revolution, while there were acts of rioting and civil unrest. The country saw increased belligerence from neo-fascist and neo-communist groups during this period, as well as acts of domestic terrorism by Christian fundamentalists during the Price administration. The Sovereign Citizen's Alliance was the only attempt by these groups to form of unified political entity during this period. The bulk of non-violent political demonstrations came from liberal members of the US Congress, student groups, and Flood Generation progressive organizations who collaborated in opposition to what they saw as a decades long betrayal by the elites. The Neo-Progressive movement hadn't gained much traction until the labor crisis and great famine entered full force; at that point constitutional reforms were tied to a new wave of nationalism and protectionism that was sweeping the country. In late 2027 the Progressive Caucus organized a constitutional convention in Philadelphia to draft amendments to dismantle longstanding injustices in the electoral system. The result was the 28th and 29th Amendments to the US Constitution. The amendments were ratified by October of 2028, a matter of weeks before the Election of 2028. The constitutional convention and subsequent adoption of the new amendments led to parties that had already begun to break off from the Democrats and Republicans to swell their ranks, while even newer parties began to break off from the two major parties. The largest of these was the American Progress Party which was made up predominantly of economic nationalists and progressives from the Democratic party, and a coalition of new voters and disaffected Republicans. The revolutions abroad did have the immediate impact of sending waves of immigrants to the United States. This, in turn, fueled the more nativist Conservative Party formed from the moderate factions of the Democrats and former Republicans, and caused a sharp divide in the Labor Party. The Conservative and Labor Party's, "Domestic" wings, opposed any immigration from poorer African nations out of fear that unskilled laborers from Africa would undercut the incomes of current citizens. 'Gulf of Mexico' Main article: Caribbean annexation The flooding caused significant damage the arable land and trade-ports of the island nations of the Gulf of Mexico, leaving these countries with virtually no foreign or domestic food supply, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people, the worst case being in the Bahamas which lost 75% of its land to the sea. Governments collapsed across the Gulf, and thousands took to the Sea to try and find refuge in the US. To reopen trade and halt the violence, the US sent its Navy to provide emergency relief, reopen ports, and stage limited military action in Hispaniola where revolutionaries from both of the Island's nations had took to fighting each other after deposing their governments. The US would expand its peacekeeping mission to the whole of the Gulf after the 2027 Atlantic Hurricane Season left what relief the US had provided, along with the rest of the Gulf nations in ruins. The majority of the population of these Island nations relocated to the United States to emergency refugee camps. With local governments destroyed the US established provisional regimes, eventually accepting these nations as States in 2029 to take advantage of such a large labor pool. 'China' Main article: Second Chinese Civil War China was already facing a tenuous balance of political forces when sea levels began to rise, with the bulk of the country's wealth concentrated in coastal cities, and the interior being supported with programs funded by the country's wealthy elites. When sea levels rose, well over 100 million people were forced inland. The wealthy heart of Shanghai was spared thanks to one of the world's largest sea walls, but the millions of people who supported the city's rise to prosperity were left to settle in refugee camps. The loss of land to water and the displayed population put even greater strain on China's farmland, which was already suffering from a drought. The Communist regime went through great lengths to hide reports of mass starvation, and attempted to increase benefits to the working poor only to find the Yuan too weak, and tax revenue too atrophied to have any substantive effect. Tensions remained high, but it wasn't until the bursting of the Three-Gorges Dam that destroyed millions of acres of crops and houses along the Yangtze farm belt that the powder keg went off and China entered open rebellion. Tibet and Xinjiang were lost. 'Afghanistan-Pakistan' Pakistan's government had stood on failing legs since the US withdrew from Afghanistan (and in many respects from the moment the US entered Afghanistan). The prolonged civil war in Afghanistan placed an unending drain on Pakistan's internal security forces. With the fall of the Russian Federation and China's own economic problems, Pakistan was left isolated and less able to support its overburdened military. It looked like relief would come in 2021 when Iran moved into Afghanistan's western provinces, but this only exacerbated tensions with radical elements inside the Taliban and Pakistani military, who saw it as Persian encroachment. This was all but a prelude to the crisis that was thrown into motion with the Great Famine. With the ongoing drought in the region, Pakistan saw some of the worst examples of mass-starvation during the Flood. The same could be said for Afghanistan, a country that didn't have the benefit of a large standing military to maintain order. In 2027, General Wassim Khan led elements of the Pakistani military in a military coup. Khan was never fully supported by the beleaguered members of Pakistan's mountain divisions in the west, and the coup led to mass defections and a civil war that spread across the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. With the military fighting itself for control of the largely Pashto core, other ethnic and religious minorities staged secessionist movements, leaving the region, and a nuclear power into chaos. With many permanent members of the UN Security council embroiled in their own civil unrest, the US assembled a hastily crafted coalition of Iran, India, and Turkey to invade and secure the region's nuclear arsenal. India bore the brunt of the commitment of ground forces, while US Naval and Air Forces provided support, and US special forces ex filtrated the nuclear arsenal. The coalition effort in Pakistan was celebrated as a model for international cooperation during the chaotic early days of the Flood. 'India and Bangladesh' India was devastated by the Flood, not directly, but by the instability created in its neighboring states. The rising tide and resultant famine lead to the largest single mass migration of the era when 80 million Bangladeshis were driven from their homes to resettle in the Seven Sister States of India. Facing famine and civil unrest at home, and their military stretched thin on the former Pakistani border, India agreed to cede the underpopulated Seven Sisters and a portion of West Bengal to Bangladesh to keep their resources focused on defending the nation's heartland. After pleading with the international community for assistance, the US, and Iran agreed to aid in the removal of nuclear weapons from former Pakistan. The Af-Pak wars drove millions into refugee camps in Kasmir, leading to a persistent state of unrest that eventually forced India to grant the province independence to keep the heart of the country together. Food shortages, riots, and military defections were the order of the day for India for over a decade as the nation's military made every attempt to keep the country together. The national government cracked down on civil liberties, nationalized agriculture and briefly instituted a 1-Child Policy to hold the country together. Category:21st Century Category:Timeline